A Hero Never Rests
by TheEliteLabRatsLover
Summary: Because there's no way the meta-humans are going to let them have the day off. (Secret Santa gift for Katie237!)


**Holy crap, this is super late. *chuckles awkwardly* Heheh, well, at least I got it in before the due date, right? One day, but it still counts...anywho, this is a Secret Santa gift for the absolutely BRILLIANT Katie237! She is an ASTOUNDING writer but even more of a FANTASTIC person. :D So I really, _really_ hope that you like this! We have a lot of the same interests so it made it easier. ;P Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

 **Also, this is my first story of 2018! Whoo-hoo!**

 **Oh, and this "meta human" that I created was based off Polaris from the Gifted just so ya'll know. :D**

 **Disclaimer: New year, same old disclaimer. I own none of this. *sobs***

* * *

"Oh, come _on_!" Cisco exclaimed in annoyance to the sudden beeping from his phone. "Why do the bad guys always pick the most _terrible_ of times to cause mayhem? Couldn't they wait just five minutes? It's the best part of the movie!" Cisco all but whined from his position on the couch.

Barry chuckled at Cisco's response to the meta-alert. They were currently watching what his tech-friend had deemed the _best part_ of "The Emperor Strikes Back" and there was apparently some meta-human disruption downtown.

"We'll be sure to tell them that." Barry affirmed Cisco, shaking his head in amusement as he got up from the couch. "Come on, man, let's go." And with some grumbling, Cisco opened a breach While Barry sped to STAR Labs; neither of them aware of how the seemingly simple mission would turn out...

* * *

"Yep, that is definitely our meta human." Cisco confirmed as he and Barry arrived to the scene full of commotion. Barry ducked as a bench flew over his head; looking back at it in shock before he quickly turned back to the destruction before him.

"Ya' think?" Barry retorted, watching as the girl hurled a trash can in anger towards a building.

"So...magnetic abilities?"

"It's gotta' be. But we don't know what other abilities she might have so keep an eye out."

"Roger that," Cisco declared.

"I'll work on getting the civilians out-"

"And I'll keep her preoccupied." Cisco finished, and with that the battle had begun. Barry ran as fast as he could, picking up people who cowered behind their cars and hid in the buildings one at a time. It was downtown and rush hour- _of course_ -so there were a lot of people in the area.

He continued carrying each person to a safer location; keeping an eye out for any injuries that may require a hospital.

He grabbed who he hoped would be the last person, and dropped the young man off at the bank- _a local building in the center of town that was easily distinguishable from the rest of the city_ -only to find a middle aged woman in the middle of a breakdown, crying and begging someone to find her daughter whom had apparently been at the meta attack. He immediately rushed over there, having to gently grab her arms in order to get her attention.

"Ma'am, _ma'am_ , it's okay, everything will be all right, just tell me where you last saw your daughter." He tried to calm her, speaking in a soothing voice. She inhaled a shaky breath.

"S-she's in the cafe, behind the cou-counter," And Barry was gone before she had even finished the sentence, knowing he needed to find the girl and help Cisco immediately. Sure enough, as he sped back into town, a young girl- _no older the six_ -sat shaking behind the cafe counter, crying for her mother.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. I'm here to help you; I'm going to bring you back to your mom," He tried to assure her, moving closer to her as he knelt down. She seemed unsure at first, but as soon as he mentioned her mother she threw herself at him; her little body wracking with sobs.

"It's okay, shh," He wasted no time in running back to the bank, dropping her off with her mother and not taking the time to watch the joyous reunion, knowing that Cisco couldn't hold off the meta much longer. Much to his dismay, as soon as he returned he discovered that the police had gotten involved and could only watch in horror as they all pulled out their guns.

"On your knees with your hands behind your head! _Now_!" Singh shouted, but the dark haired woman only smirked with the slightest hint of sympathy on her lips.

"Afraid not." She suddenly threw her arms out towards a light pole, and Barry watched in horror filled fascination as it seemingly shook and crumpled, horrible metallic sounds filling the air and making him wince, before it was yanked out of the concrete and launched towards the police unit.

" _Fire_!" The street erupted with the sounds of bullets firing and Barry started to run towards the officers, with the hopes of deflecting the light pole to another destination. He ran towards the vehicles that were all lined up and jumped on top of the one that was soon becoming a bulls eye for the flying pole. He jumped, managing to throw the post to the ground before it reached the police officers.

But because of all the commotion, he looked up just in time to see stray bullets headed directly towards Cisco; and the hero was clueless to it. He took off in a dead run, dodging debris and bullets along the way, straining every muscle to just _go faster_. He grimaced as he stretched his arm out, fingers reaching as far as they could go when suddenly he saw rather than felt his fingers close around the bullet headed straight for his friend's chest.

Barry saw no other bullets, and with a sigh of relief he skidded to a stop; face scrunching up as he felt a sharp pain in his side from the muscles being strained so much. He immediately turned towards Cisco, who was obviously surprised by his sudden appearance, and grabbed his arm.

"You okay?" He panted.

"Yeah, thanks to you," Cisco declared, still slightly stunned by what _could_ have happened. They both looked towards the meta human as Barry spoke.

"How do you think we should do this?"

"I'm thinking a good ol' shock wouldn't do any lasting harm," Cisco suggested.

"Got it." Barry inhaled a deep breath before taking off running again, this time in circles. And with the meta-human suddenly fixated on him, he wasted no time in hurdling the built-up energy towards her. With a grunt, he came to almost a complete stop and thrust the lightning onto her; watching as it hit it's target perfectly. Not enough to kill, but enough to sting for a while and put her out of commission. For now. He panted as he bent forward and rested the palms of his hands on his knees. _Too much running_. He thought as he stood back up and moved over to where the unconscious villain lay.

"Dude, that never gets old!" Cisco exclaimed and Barry huffed out a laugh.

"Come on, let's get her locked up so we can finish your favorite scene."

"Yes!" Cisco declared, pumping his fist into the air in excitement. Barry could only wonder what was going through the police squads' heads right now.

* * *

"-doesn't get why it's so awesome. I mean, don't get me wrong now; I love Caitlin and all, but she is just absolutely clueless when it comes to entertainment. To her it's things like _fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva_ and _anemia_ or _transfusions_ or _pleural effusions_ and a bunch of other weird medical stuff. She just doesn't get it. So that's why-" Cisco spoke, rapidly and animatedly as they walked into the main room of STAR Labs. It was empty, due to the fact of it having supposed to be a day off for Team Flash.

Caitlin and Iris were out and Harry was doing God-knows-what.

Cisco just kept on talking, but Barry was having a difficult time trying to comprehend it all over the rushing in his head. He swallowed hard as he threw his gloves down on the table and tried to think of any possible reason for his sudden shortness of breath and other ill sensations.

Did he not eat enough today? No, that couldn't be; he'd already had a few of Cisco's granola bars _and_ a pizza plus all of the pancakes for breakfast.

Did he run too fast/much? No, that _definitely_ couldn't be. He'd run more and much faster just _practicing_ before.

Was he sick? No, he didn't get sick with his super-healing.

So what on earth could the reason be?

He was wracking his brain trying to figure it out; despite how foggy it seemed. He brushed it off at first as fatigue, but it only seemed to be getting worse. He leaned against the table and gripped onto it as a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him. He grimaced as he waited for the pain to end. "-all right? You look a little sick, man." Cisco was saying, apparently.

"Y-yeah, just a little...little dizzy." He swallowed hard as pain suddenly joined in with the nausea and dizziness.

"Um...Barry? You're bleeding." Cisco suddenly said, voice rising towards the end as panic started to lace his words. He opened his eyes but found it hard to focus as the room tilted and darkness clouded the edges of his vision.

"Huh?" He mumbled, his hand coming up to the pain that had located itself in his left ribcage. He was stunned to find a wet sticky substance there, and when he pulled his hand away, he was even more shocked to see his hand entirely coated in crimson.

Suddenly the room began to spin violently, and the last thing Barry was aware of was the sound of a loud ' _crash_ ' and Cisco yelling his name.

* * *

"Crap, crap, crap. Caitlin, come one, _pick up_!" Barry distantly heard a familiar voice as he continued to lie in pitch darkness. It was comforting, perhaps even soothing, but he knew it wouldn't last long as he felt the pain begin to rapidly pour in to his chest cavity. He startled awake with a gasp and jerk, scaring the other occupant of the room half to death.

Cisco gasped as he took a step back, dropping the phone to the floor with a ' _clang!_ '. " _Jesus_ , Barry!" But Barry paid no mind to him as he continued to balance on the very edge of hyperventilating and struggled to sit up, only to fall back down with a thump.

" _Gah!_ " He exclaimed, gasping for air as he curled into himself and whimpered from the sudden sharp pain in his ribcage.

"Don't do that!"

"N-noted." Barry gasped out, body trembling with white hot pain. Cisco immediately returned to his side, quickly grabbing the phone off the floor and continued applying pressure to Barry's side; which he had apparently been doing when Barry woke up.

"I think you managed to get yourself shot, buddy," Cisco stated and Barry cringed from the added pain of the towel being pressed into his side.

"Seriously? I didn't k-know," _So that's what that sharp pain was_. He inhaled sharply, trying to block the pain out, or at least embrace it, but it wouldn't work. "Why's it-...hurt s'bad?" He bit out, gritting his teeth as the pain soared every time he breathed.

"Oh, I dunno'. Maybe because there's a freakin' bullet inside of you!?" Barry sent a weak glare in what he hoped was Cisco's direction. Cisco sighed. "I think it's wedged between your ribs." Great. That explains why it hurt every time he _breathed_.

"I called Caitlin but she won't pick up, and I can't bring you to a hospital but I sure as hell can't treat you by myself and-" Cisco babbled, his usual technique for dealing with any stressful situation. Barry's hand shot out to weakly grab his friend's wrist to get him to stop talking and gain his attention.

"C-Cisco...you h-have to- _ga-hah!_ -please, y-you have to-" Barry mumbled almost feverishly, but he managed to look into Cisco's eyes during the duration of his sentence; wanting to get his attention. "You've seen Caitlin do it-" Groan. "Lotsa' times..."

"But Barry...You'll die if I do that!"

"I'll die if you don't." Barry declared before suddenly arching his neck back as the pain skyrocketed; a groan/shout of pain escaping past his lips.

"Barry-"

" _Cisco_!" Barry exclaimed. "Just- _please_. You...You can do it. I believe in you..." Barry spoke, looking up at his doubtful best friend's face, trying to display the trust he had for him through his pain-filled eyes. Something seemed to click, because suddenly Cisco inhaled and nodded his head rapidly.

"Okay, okay. We're actually gonna' do this," Cisco hurriedly placed Barry's hands on the towel, knowing that he would understand and continue applying pressure to his own wound, before quickly - _at a speed that rivaled his own_ -sterilizing his hands and the instruments he would use.

There was no time to waste, but he couldn't take the risk of Barry dying from an infection either.

Soon he returned with the proper tools, but his hands shook as he neared his patient's side. Having already removed his shirt whilst Barry was unconscious, all Cisco had to do was remove the towel and set to work. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, that is, until Barry grabbed his wrist once again.

"It's okay." And that was all he needed. He pressed the scalpel to Barry's skin, and suddenly began to perform surgery on his best friend.

Pain burst throughout Barry's torso and the last thing he knew was a wretched sound forcing its way through his lips and his body fighting for only seconds more before he inevitably lost the fight and succumbed to the pain; his body falling limp as the darkness overtook him.

* * *

Barry slowly awoke to the dull throb in his abdomen, faintly aware that the groan he had heard must have come from his own mouth.

He sluggishly blinked his eyes open, surprised to see an empty room surrounding him. " _Mmh_." He lightly moaned as he pushed himself up a bit and searched through his memories to try and understand what he was doing here in STAR Labs with what felt like a hole in his chest. And then suddenly-

 _Oh_.

That's right.

There _was_ a hole in his chest.

So that question was answered. But what about his other one?

Where was Cisco?

Sure enough, there came Cisco around the wall of the hallway, looking utterly exhausted as he rounded the corner whilst holding a pitcher of orange juice and a glass. Relief washed over his features as he looked up, seeing that Barry was awake. Barry offered a meek wave.

"Hey," He stated, voice rough from all of his previous pain filled shouts. "You did it." Barry declared, but was only slightly stunned as the engineer rushed over and quickly placed the glass and pitcher on the side table before grabbing the hero in a tight hug. Barry grimaced in pain but returned the hug nonetheless.

"You're alive." Cisco said as he pulled back, eyes red and puffy from previous crying.

"Thanks to you." Barry repeated Cisco's words from before. Cisco laughed quietly.

"Oh! Here," Cisco turned around, taking a moment to pour some of the orange juice into the glass before handing it to Barry. "It'll help restore everything back to normal," Cisco explained.

"Thanks," Barry said, with relief because honestly his throat was killing him. The sweet taste and cold liquid seemed to soothe his throat and after a few sips the fog seemed to have lifted from his mind some. "So...how did it go?" Cisco sighed as he dragged a chair across the floor and sat down next to Barry's side.

"Kinda' touch and go for a while. The bullet was really lodged between your ribs; and you had started healing already. I sort of, had to, _separate_ the ribs to get it out..." Barry grimaced and subconsciously rubbed his side.

"Yeah, "Cisco huffed. "You just had to be awake for that part. You kept fading in and out, but were out most of the time. Thank _God_. Oh, and you've been out for a couple of hours plus the time it took me to, ya' know..." Barry nodded, absorbing all of the new information.

"How are you doing?" Cisco laughed humorlessly.

"I should be asking you that."

"Cisco." His friend sighed before speaking.

"I'm good. A little bit shaken up; not everyday that I operate on someone, ya' know. Still find it hard to believe what just transpired today." Barry chuckled quietly as he leaned back against the bed once more; hand resting on his side as he closed his eyes.

"That's our luck, for ya'."

"And on our day off, no less!" Barry smiled tiredly, glad Cisco could still make jokes. No matter how true it may be.

"Of course," Just then Cisco's phone started ringing, and he grabbed it off of the table as Barry opened his eyes and looked over at him; watching as his face fell to something that resembled annoyance.

" _Now_ she calls," He sighed and stood up while answering the phone as Barry chuckled.

"Hey, Cait. I'm gonna' put you on speaker phone," A beep signaled what Cisco had said, before Caitlin started speaking; voice borderline tinny.

"Cisco! I just got back with Iris. My phone was dead so I just charged it and saw that I had twenty-two missed calls from you! Is everything all right? Is Barry there? I heard there was an attack. Did you get the meta-human-"

"Whoa, whoa, Cait, slow down." Cisco fondly rolled his eyes before continuing. "We did get the meta-human, and everything is alright now. As for Barry, he's uh, well, he's here." Cisco stated, shrugging in Barry's direction.

"So, everything's okay?"

"Yeah... _more or less_." Cisco mouthed the last part to Barry.

"Well then," Caitlin began. "Did I miss out on anything fun?" Cisco looked to Barry, his face showing no amusement whatsoever and Barry started laughing. Well, laughing/wheezing as he ignored the pain it caused in his chest.

"You, be quiet." Cisco commanded to his friend but Barry only laughed harder, the days events becoming painfully ironic to him. Quite literally. A superhero team never rests, do they?

"Cisco?"

"Not you. Barry's just about bust a rib or something." Barry laughed, but immediately stopped when it _did_ cause his ribs to ache even more. "Told ya'," Barry mock-pouted in Cisco's direction; a heatless glare set upon his face.

"What's going on over there, Cisco?"

"Oh, nothing. You know," He sighed, a faint smile on the engineer's lips. "Just your average day off." Barry returned the smile, closing his eyes once more as the fatigue began to settle back in on his shoulders and weighing his eyelids down. "Sleep." He heard Cisco softly say before his footsteps faded out of the room with the voice of an angry/worried Caitlin and his own trying to calm her.

So Barry did as he was told.

Knowing that he had the best team there was to watch over him.

* * *

 ***cheeky smile* Well, what did you think? I haven't written in a loonnggg while and kinda' lost my drive for it but hopefull this one was good! Oh, and Katie237, one more thing,**

 **YOU ROCK.**

 **Until next time! :)**


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